Bottom sediments as fertilizer for organic farming

One of the tasks of agricultural production is its greening, the implementation of which is possible through organic farming and intensification of the processes of restoring soil fertility. Organic fertilizers play a major role in soil restoration, among which sapropels are the most valuable. The Amur region has rich reserves of sapropels, but their study is fragmentary. The object of the study was the bottom sediments of Kapustikha Lake, which is located on the territory of the Muravyovsky Park for Sustainable Environmental Management and Environmental Educa- tion, Tambov Municipal District. As a result of the study, it has been established that the bottom sediments of Kapustikha Lake are gray in color and belong to the organic-calcareous type, are characterized by a neutral hydrogen index, and the content of organic matter ranges from 13,429 to 16,447%. The reserves of nitrate and ammonium nitrogen are 83,964 and 230,645 mg/kg, re- spectively, phosphorus – 195,519 mg/kg, potassium – 212,033 mg/kg. It has been found that the bottom sediments of Kapustikha Lake are a valuable organic substance, a microbial pool, which is represented by anaerobic ammonifiers, nitrifiers, and free-living nitrogen fixers.